The present invention relates generally to lamp shades, and more particularly, to a lamp shade which is readily assembled by an average consumer and equally collapsible into an essentially planer item for shipping and handling.
The venerable light shade has been a household staple since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. Indeed, such devices predate Edison""s invention of the light bulb, when they were used to disperse and soften candle light. They come in all shapes and sizes, are both utilitarian and decorative, and while typically three dimensional and bulky, weigh relatively little.
Lamp shades, until recently, have been typically shipped fully assembled, and, while it is sometimes possible to ship several in stacked relation, the shipping container is both bulky and cumbersome. The manufacture of lamp shades has become extremely competitive, and, as a consequence, the cost of manufacture, which includes shipping the product to the seller""s point of sale, all becomes a significant factor in this highly competitive market place.
With the commercial maturation of the Pacific Rim and, in particular, China, much of the demand for production of lamp shades has migrated in that direction, based primarily on cost factors. However, shipping costs have coincidently become a significant factor and such costs are dependent, in addition to weight, on the volume of the shipping container. Since, in the case of a lamp shade, weight is less of a factor than bulk, any savings that can be realized in the reduction of the volume of a shipment becomes significant in the cost to get the product into the hands of the reseller.
The prior art is replete with a staggering variety of shades which transcend the generations, reaching back to pre electricity days when such shades were used to shield one""s vision from glare by dispersing light from, for example, a candle, or perhaps an oil lantern. See Watanabe U.S. Pat. No. 1,178,764 by way of example.
The more common strut is a wire, which extends between the upper and lower support members, and there is a line of patents, perhaps the grandfather of which, is Stearns U.S. Pat. No. 351,717. In that effort, a wire is bent about a lower ring and is hooked at the top so as to receive an upper support in the form of a circular slat.
Okamoto U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,307 is a variation on this theme in which Okamoto employs a ring receiver soldered, or otherwise attached, to the ends of the wire, which is adapted to receive the ring. Such an arrangement permits the wires to be moved anywhere on the ring, and spacing of the wires becomes difficult. Moreover, the wires are prone to becoming deformed, thus adversely effecting the shape of the shade. Stadler U.S. Pat. No. 2,037,941 is similar in concept with the receiver being somewhat modified.
In other patents, such as Tradelius U.S. Pat. No. 2,702,341, form holes in the sides of upper and lower members and bend the ends of the wire supports inwardly or outwardly to fit into the holes. Perhaps the most common means of connection is to provide tubes which are attached to the upper and lower rings and into which supports can be fitted. Exemplary of such structures is Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,048, which also uses a hinge to assist in the collapsability. Additionally, see Gall U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,222 and Kaufman U.S. Pat. No. 1,319,092, which provides a historical perspective, and German patent number 401,783.
Each, every and all of the foregoing efforts at providing a collapsible lamp shade are unnecessarily complex in their design and an effort to distinguish from the competition without accomplishing a viable improvement.
The present invention, while not the first and only shade of its type to be collapsible, is certainly the most innovative and practical to reach the market. The shade comprises a lamp shade having selectively shaped struts that are removable for shipping and storage and insertable to erect the shade for use.
It is an objective consonant with the foregoing to provide a lamp shade that is capable of assuming a planer configuration for shipping and handling, while being easily assembled into a decorative shade for use.
An objective, similar to the foregoing, is to provide a collapsible lamp shade that is readily assembled by almost anyone, even with no prior experience, into an attractive and very functional shade. Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a lamp shade of the character described in which the struts are pre shaped to obviate the prospect of their being installed improperly.
Still other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein: